Preamble - Friday 17 September 2010

16 Sep 2010

With the swearing-in of the new Gillard Ministry, the Treasury portfolio now consists of the Hon Wayne Swan MP as Treasurer; the Hon Bill Shorten MP as Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation; and the Hon David Bradbury MP as Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer. The Opposition has retained the Hon Joe Hockey MP as Shadow Treasurer, but has appointed Western Australian Senator Mathias Cormann to Shadow Bill Shorten's portfolio responsibilities. Interestingly, they have also appointed a Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Tax Reform in the Hon Tony Smith MP.

As the Government's Treasury team now does not include a Senator, Treasury issues will be ‘represented' in the upper house by Senator the Hon Penny Wong (Finance Minister) and former Assistant Treasurer Senator the Hon Nick Sherry (Minister for Small Business and Minister Assisting the Minister for Tourism).

Now that the portfolio responsibilities are settled, the Ministers will be poring over their departmental briefings from the Treasury, ATO and other relevant agencies, ahead of the resumption of Parliament on 28 September.

The Taxation Institute's engagement with the Government on the key issues of concern to members has recommenced and we very much look forward to further building our relationships with the new Ministerial and Shadow Ministerial representatives.